Six to the End (from the pages of Berlin)

My new poetry chapbook Berlin (from Maverick Duck Press) is flying out the door, and I thought I'd throw up a sample poem for anyone who would like to see what the chap is all about. The poems were all written during a week in Berlin, Germany in 2010 and contain plenty of noir sentiments: streelamps, trains, sidewalks, corner cafes, nighttime skylines, hotel ghosts, and more. You can order copies for $6 via the publisher or by emailing me at jhdwriting@hotmail.com. If you already own a copy, you can leave a review and rating at Goodreads.com. Thanks!

Six to the End

out go the lights

six to the end like empty chambers

of a smoking gun dead

broken heels running in the night

up the wet street, up the wet sky

blonde hair gracing the face of the moon

every dream has a hole

and every hole pours red hope

into pools of abrupt sermon songs

there isn’t a street without a crack

and there isn’t woman without a spine

to hold up her coat, or feathered summation

the women, they reload quick

and then men, they hurry for knives

every villain eager for a hero

every heart beaten to a pulp

and the empty shells slip from the gun

clatter onto the glass table

roll across Venetian blinds like mice

in the alleys there are tigers

in Macau there are fires

in morgues there are long dreams of masculine fear

all down the potter’s lane, cemeteries in a row

six to the end like waiting chambers

six to the end like autumn lovers gone

'Men of Karma' now at Carcinogenic Poetry

My new road poem "Men of Karma" now appears at Carcinogenic Poetry, an online literary journal that has published some of my favorite poems over the years. A big thank you goes to editor Michael Aaron Casares for accepting the piece!    

Berlin: Coming Soon!

My new poetry chapbook Berlin is inching closer to its release in early December, and Kendall A. Bell, the editor over at Maverick Duck Press, sent me the cover image last night, and here it is (both front and back are seen here):

I'm really impressed, and a major thank you goes to artist Ryan W. Bradley for putting it together, as well as to the entire staff at MDP for all their work. I can't wait for the book release reading on Dec. 5th at the Daily Grind Coffee Shop in Mount Holly, NJ. All are welcome to come along and join the open mic portion, or just hang out and listen, and I'll be reading from Berlin and some other books as well. I'll post details on where you can purchase a copy of Berlin as soon as I can. Until then, thanks for the support!

"When the Time is Right" now in Red Fez, Issue 72

My poem "When the Time is Right" now appears in Red Fez, Issue 72. I always liked this one, which speaks to the drudgery of work, life, and social expectations and how one day there may be a spiritual—and perhaps violent—revolt. I'm really happy this one found a home with Red Fez, an amazing collective of poetry, fiction, reviews, comics, and art, and this issue includes the likes of Bill Gainer, Heather M Browne, Mike Meraz, Cassandra Dallett, John Swain, Gabriel Ricard, Leopold McGinnis, and a review of Bud Smith's upcoming novel by Ted Jackins. Take a look and consider submitting your own work. The Fezzers are a lot of fun! 

New Poetry in the Fall/Winter Issue of The Aurorean

My poem “Ties” is slated to appear in the Fall/Winter issue of The Aurorean, due out in just a couple of weeks, but you can pre-order a copy for just $11 at their website right now. The Aurorean is an excellent literary journal out of New England and I’ve had the pleasure of appearing in a few of their other issues, as well as in their Favorites from the First Fifteen Years anthology, which was a finalist in the 2013 Maine Literary Awards. Pick up a copy of the upcoming issue if you have the chance and be sure to look for my poem "Ties." Many thanks to editors Cynthia Brackett-Vincent and Devin McGuire for including my work!

The Cards We Keep, Others Now in Everett Library

The gorgeous Everett Mansion of Southern Vermont College (library wing is on the left).

Last month I dropped off four of my books at my alma mater, Southern Vermont College, for inclusion in the Everett Mansion Library. The mansion houses the classrooms, admin offices, theater, and library for the SVC campus, and I'm really excited about having my work placed there. The library is a beautiful corner of the mansion with brightly lit reading rooms, a large fireplace, and now four of my own books, including:

• The Cards We Keep (2013, short fiction)
• Dealing with the Devil in the Middle of the Road (2012, poetry)
• Lantern Lit, Vol. 1 - The Darkest Bomb (2014, poetry)
• Maybe a Bird Will Sing (2009, poetry)

If you happen to be in southern Vermont - Bennington specifically - feel free to drop int! The campus has amazing views of Bennington and the surrounding area. It's worth checking out!

Writing on the Rails: Survival Tips for Traveling Authors

I write on trains. A lot. It's not always pretty (shabby interiors, crying kids, cell-phone talkers) but when you get a quiet car, a seat to yourself, and a gorgeous view, you can have a lot of fun. I discuss my tips for making the most of your railway adventures while still trying to work on that novel of yours over at the Writer's Digest website. Take a look, and good luck writing the next time you hop trains cross-country! 

Readings Past and Yet to Come

I don’t read my work in public often (never got comfortable with it) and I recently tried to rectify that by reading at a cool little open mic where author Bud Smith revealed an excerpt from his upcoming novel, F-250. The reading took place at a bar in the Bronx called An Beal Bocht (Gaelic for “The Poor Mouth”) and it was the first time I read in front of a crowd in, what…two, three years? Something like that, so it was a fun personal challenge to shake off the rust and get up there. I was more nervous than I’d like to admit, and like every other reading I’ve ever done, I needed 6-7 beers in order to not shake like a set of wind-up chattering teeth up in front of the mic. I read two older pieces from around 2009; one, “Norway,” is about strippers named after European nations and how swimming naked in the moonlight is often the best way to put them in the past; and the second, “Darkness Within the Dark,” comes from one of my many bouts with Taoism, an on-again/off-again passion of mine. Both poems are also found in my collection Dealing With the Devil in the Middle of the Road. Thankfully it went well and I got some encouraging feedback. I'm grateful for host Erin Lynn for putting the open mic together each month, and I definitely plan to attend again. If you’re in the NYC area on August 13 around 7:30, you should swing by An Beal Bocht and listen in.

I’m also doing a reading on Saturday, October 4 at Jimmy’s No. 23 (in the back room, plenty of seating) where I’ll be featured along with a number of other authors from the Too Much anthology, which is due out this summer. The cover here looks amazing, doesn’t it? I’ll have more details about that reading soon, but I’ll probably read from my piece in the anthology, which is full of stories of alcoholic, sexual, and narcotic excess. Pretty apt topic considering I'll likely need a double dose of liquid courage to read in front of a crowd that large. Anyway, I hope you can make it!

*** Update: I may be doing a reading in the southern New Jersey / Philadelphia area in December as well to promote a new book of mine. Details TBA. ***

Work to a Calm #7 - Two Poems

Two of my poems, "Flood" and "Nothing and You," now appear in Issue 7 of Work to a Calm, a striking little literary journal that is carving a nice home for itself online. If you haven't heard of it, please do check it out; it will be worth your while. Editor Nastia Lenkova has a keen eye for quality work, and I'm not just saying that because I've had a few of my own pieces in there over the years. If you like what you see there, consider my New & Selected collection of poetry, Dealing With the Devil in the Middle of the Road. The poems of mine that now appear in Work to a Calm were written during the same period as this book, and I still have signed copies available. You can also find links to purchase the book online in the Books section above. Thanks to Nastia for selecting my work, and thanks to you for reading!   

New Poetry in Riverbabble #25

My poem "Burning in the Freeze" now appears in Riverbabble #25. The poem was written during my final month in Beacon, NY, about a walk home from the local pub during the still of a chilly winter night. There are a number of other poets and writers worth checking out in this issue, including Bill Gainer, John Swain, Felice Aull, John Oliver Simon, and others. Thanks for taking a look!